Computed tomography (CT) is an imaging technique that has been widely used in the medical field. In a procedure for computed tomography, an x-ray source and a detector apparatus are positioned on opposite sides of a portion of a patient under examination. The x-ray source generates and directs an x-ray beam towards the patient, while the detector apparatus measures intensity values produced by the x-ray beam during the process. The detector apparatus produces a voltage proportional to the intensity of incident x-rays, and the voltage is read and digitized for subsequent processing in a computer. By taking a plurality of readings from multiple angles around the patient, relatively massive amounts of data are thus accumulated. The accumulated data are then analyzed and processed for reconstruction of a matrix (visual or otherwise), which constitutes a depiction of a density function of a volume of the bodily region being examined. By considering one or more sections in the volume, a skilled diagnostician can often diagnose various bodily ailments such as tumors, blood clots, etc.
In existing CT procedures, a patient support may be used to position a patient while the radiation source of the CT machine is rotated about the patient. Such patient support may have a cantilever configuration in which one end of the patient support is connected to a base, while an opposite end of the patient support is a free end. The patient support may be translated from a first position to a second position along its longitudinal axis (e.g., Z-axis) during the imaging procedure.
Applicants of the subject application determine that as the patient support is translated during an imaging procedure, the patient support may bend due to its cantilever configuration. For example, as the patient support is translated further away from its base, the cantilever section of the patient support may lengthen, resulting in an unintended vertical deflection at the free end (and other positions along the length) of the patient support. The vertical deflection may vary, depending on the cantilever length. The further the free end is away from the support base, the more the deflection. Furthermore, Applicants of the subject application determine that mechanical slippage, strains of different mechanical components, and/or the patient's weight may also contribute to unintentional deflection of the patient support. Thus, Applicants of the subject application determine that it would be desirable to have a new imaging system and method that address the above problems.